A DINNER-PARTY 251 



cooked, clean food of a white household to that of the 

 sodden and strong stuffs common to the camp. When, as 

 sometimes happened, the desire for novelty came, the 

 whole population would paddle away to the mainland or 

 to one or other of the adjacent islands, voyages being 

 undertaken as far away as distant Hinchinbroook. Turtle 

 do not favour the beaches and sandbanks of Dunk Island 

 generally as safe depositories for their innumerable eggs, 

 and when the longing came for these delicacies the in- 

 habitants would with one accord travel to those islands in 

 the security of which turtle still exhibit faith. The drift of 

 the population hither and thither was not due to the 

 scarcity of food but to a wayward impulse. As a rule 

 there was little for the population to do save to eat, drink, 

 laze away the hotter hours of the day, and " corrobboree " 

 at night. 



Astonishment can scarcely be withheld when air 

 attempt is made to catalogue the available foods of the 

 island, the variety and quantity. No effort was made 

 at cultivation. Blacks took no heed of the morrow, but 

 accepted the fruits of the earth without thought of inciting 

 Nature to produce better or more abundantly, and yet how 

 plenteous were her gifts ! 



Permitting imagination to soar away into regions of 

 romance, one might picture a dinner-party of the bygone 

 days, the lap of Mother Earth furnished with edibles and 

 dainties, and the hungry and expectant members of the 

 camp squatted round in anticipation of the various courses. 

 Such a scene would be worthy of being classed among the 

 most improbable ; but as it would not be absolutely im- 

 possible, may not an attempt be made to treat it as a 

 reality ? 



The repast might be initiated with a few oysters on the 

 shells (with a choice of three or four varieties) ; a selection 

 of many fish would be succeeded by real turtle (" padg-e-gal ") 

 soup (in the original shell), and made as before described ; 

 the joint, a huge piece of dugong ("pal-an-gul") kummaoried, 

 rich and excellent, with entries of turtle cutlets and baked 



